Developing Your Personal Fitness Plan For Weight Loss

Not all fitness plans are created equal, nor do they meet everyone’s needs. Each fitness plan focuses on different goals and objectives, for example, a fitness program to become a better tennis player, runner or swimmer is not the best program for weight loss. If your goal is to lose weight, then you need to develop an effective fitness plan designed specifically for weight loss.

Fitness is one of three pillars of weight loss and health, the other two being a healthy diet and healthy lifestyle habits. When designing your personal fitness plan to support healthy weight loss, consider the following:

What are your fitness goals? First and foremost, weight loss, but are you also motivated by more energy and a leaner, more muscular physique? Or do you prefer improving your heart and lungs, your cardiovascular health while burning body fat? Do you see yourself in the gym training with weights, in a group fitness class, or on a stationary bike “spinning” with a group? Once you identify your clear fitness goals, you are in a better position to choose the most appropriate exercises and fitness plan to reach those goals.

What is your current fitness level? You should assess your current physical condition and your ability to perform specific exercises when planning your fitness program. Take into consideration any medications, underlying medical conditions and health issues or limitations when planning.

Add variety to your program. Once you establish your goal and begin to choose exercises and fitness approaches, add a variety of training styles to your fitness plan. Performing the same exercises over and over can lead to boredom and quitting. Repetitive movements also increase your risk for injury to connective tissues, muscles and joints. Your fitness plan should include changes in speed, duration and provide a challenge. Don’t just swim, add walking and jogging, or alternate training days for cardio and strength training for better results.

Allow recovery time. Not to put a damper on your motivation, but you should not exercise every day. Your body needs the occasional day off for rest, repair and recovery. Consider training every other day when you are first starting out. Then train two days “on” and one day “off” and later, train three days and rest one. Be careful not to get lazy or overeat on your rest day!

Write it down. It’s not a plan until it’s on paper. Start by recording your fitness and weight loss goals, then add your weekly and monthly training plan. Mark the days you will train and stick to those days. Record your accomplishments and weekly weight and review your journal to identify problem areas that need to be addressed.